


Lovemonster

by Not_You



Series: She Who Must Be Obeyed (And Other Stuff) [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Anal Sex, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cunnilingus, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Facials, Fluff and Angst, Frottage, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Past Domestic Violence, Pepper Potts Feels, Polyamory Negotiations, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is Not Helping, Vaginal Fingering, bondage but it's not very sexy, bruce banner also gets a hug, bruce killed his father and he's only a little sorry, not very severe because natasha won't let it be, that past domestic violence went up to murder, things get a little dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:29:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7040872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Tony and Pepper met Bruce.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There's a cafe that Pepper frequents, because they make good coffee and she can work without the risk of being pulled away into some kind of orgy, and while it's not really Tony's place, he doesn't dislike it. It's light and airy with a few interior walls made of out of glass cubes, and a lot of very nice potted plants that Tony worries about knocking over. He weaves his way into Pepper's favorite little grotto, and there she is, sipping an espresso and looking amused.

“What is it?” Tony asks, coming up to kiss her cheek.

“The man in the corner has been watching me,” she says, glancing that way.

“Oh really?” Tony asks, looking along her line of sight. “You want I should break his knees, boss?”

Pepper giggles. “No, it's been respectful little glances. Poor thing looks tired.”

“In a hot way,” Tony agrees, because damn. He's the kind of shy nerd that Tony used to pick up in robotics clubs, hiding behind his glasses and apparently unaware that his hair is perfect. “Should I go talk to him?”

“...I guess so,” Pepper says, sounding pleasantly surprised and a little nervous the way she does every time she remembers that they're really not trying to be monogamous anymore. She goes slightly pink, and Tony grins at her, kissing her forehead and then sauntering over to this adorable stranger. The poor guy shifts uneasily, starting to pick up his bag. It's a leather satchel, but Tony won't hold that against him.

“Hey,” he says, hands on the tabletop as he leans into conversational distance. “My girlfriend couldn't help but notice you checking her out.”

“I can't do this today,” he says, toneless, and stands up.

“Really?” Tony says, “I'm usually up for anything when I've been ogling Pepper for a while. Her name's Virginia,” he adds, “but we all call her Pep--” The man moves so fast Tony almost doesn't see it, grabbing him by the lapels and lifting him off his feet. He doesn't slam Tony back against the wall, just sets him there firmly. Tony squirms a little and hopes that he doesn't have an obvious boner. 

“You're right,” he says, “I shouldn't be propositioning you, you're clearly not in the mood. Or are you?” He sets his hands on the man's wrists, glancing over at Pepper, who looks more alarmed than the situation really calls for. He gives her his best reassuring smile, and then looks at the man again, getting a little lost in his dark eyes. 

“Yeah? Little bit?” He lightly kicks his feet. “Jeez, you're really strong.”

“I...” he kind of deflates, and carefully sets Tony down, letting him go. Tony does his best not to be disappointed, straightening his jacket. “I'm sorry, I don't understand.”

Tony chuckles. “You're adorable. Pepper and I are doing the non-monogamy thing, wanna come to lunch?”

“What?”

“We find you attractive,” Tony says as patiently as he can, “would you like to let us buy you lunch and perhaps kiss your pretty face?”

“I.. if... if it's okay.” He glances over at Pepper, with a look of miserable, guilty longing. 

“It's okay as long as you remain calm,” she says, a little pale but otherwise completely composed.

“I'm sorry,” he says, cringing a little, trying to make himself smaller than he is.

“He didn't hurt me at all, Pepper,” Tony says, making a last few adjustments. “It was really very restrained. And hot. What's your name, big guy?”

“Bruce Banner,” he says, and it's all Tony can do not to just melt into a puddle on the floor, because this gorgeous fucking beast of a man has also written some of the best stuff on gamma radiation in the last twenty years.

“Ugh, you just got so much sexier,” he says, and Pepper laughs, setting her bag over her shoulder and picking up her cup and saucer with the other hand.

“You'll get used to him,” she says, “but it's a process.”

“Pepper, this is Bruce fucking Banner. You remember, the paper about the waves?”

She laughs, and leading the way to the door. “Yes, the paper about the waves,” she says, dropping the dishes off. “I didn't understand most of it,” she adds, stepping out into the warm autumn day, “but you must be used to that.”

“Believe me,” he says, “it's a lot more strange to be recognized.”

Somehow, Tony does not ask to lick his brain. Instead he opens Pepper's car door for her, and once Bruce has climbed into the back, asks what he would prefer to eat. Of course Bruce says that anything they want is fine, and of course Pepper bats it back to him, and Tony finally has to just chainsaw the fucking Gordian knot and insist on burgers.

“They've also got salads if you want to be some kind of adult or vegetarian or whatever,” he adds, starting the car and pulling away from the curb. “Me, I prefer to slide to hell on a river of grease.”

“Just what did you think Tony was coming over to do, anyway?” Pepper asks.

Bruce grimaces. “Something about me makes a certain kind of guy think that he needs to beat me up. I jumped the gun.”

“I'd only fight you if you had been like, leering,” Tony says.

“Tony, you're too old to fight for my honor,” Pepper says.

“Baby, you wound me. You're getting involved with a hard woman, Bruce.”

“A hard woman and a madman,” Bruce mutters, and Tony laughs.

“It could be the other way around later,” he says, “you never know.”

“I don't know if I should sleep with a man who doesn't know that erections are unisex,” Bruce says, primly, and Tony cackles.

“Oh man, please say we can be lab buddies, whatever happens.”


	2. Chapter 2

Bruce's financial situation has gone from 'desperate' to merely 'tight,' but his frugality runs deep. Runaways look upon disposable income as a thing that happens to other people, and so even though Bruce is a real adult with degrees and even an apartment and a job, he almost never eats out. Stopping at the cafe is something he does once a week to remind himself that a cup of green tea or a pastry won't ruin him, so of course he hasn't even heard of this ridiculously upscale artisan pub thing his new friends are taking him to. It's at least casual enough that his sweatshirt and jeans aren't totally unacceptable, just a little scrubby.

The menu proves to be expansive and promising, and no one seems to mind that Bruce has to read the entire thing even though they both have usuals that they're going to order again today. As promised, there are carefully crafted burgers, salads, and various side orders. There are also wings, but nothing that sloppy is first date food. The fresh realization that this is technically a date, his first in over three years, makes him so nervous that he nearly jumps out of his skin when Tony asks if he wants the beer list.

“Uh, n-no thanks,” he says. “I don't drink.”

“Hope you don't mind when other people do,” Tony says. “One beer, I'm supposed to drive.”

Bruce smiles sadly at him. “That should be all right.”

Despite all indicators to the contrary, Tony is discreet enough to limit his conversation to the menu until Bruce has finally made his choice and everyone has ordered. Only after they have their drinks does he say, “So, I'm gonna tell you how we work.”

“No, Tony,” Pepper says, “I am. You'll make it sound crass.”

He chuckles. “Go ahead, doll.”

“Tony and I are part of a larger polyamorous system,” she says, and Bruce just nods and sips his juice. 

She goes on to explain that there are three other people, who were a stable triad until Pepper and Tony crashed into them, and that Bruce certainly doesn't have to be a part of the whole thing if he doesn't want to, but that he needs to respect their emotional commitment to it. Bruce is fine with that, and he's somewhere between turned on and nervous at the mention of BDSM which, of course, he also does not have to participate in. If they said he did, he'd already be out the door, but Pepper just keeps reiterating how optional everything is in her cool, soothing voice.

They're both good about Bruce's various questions, and he likes their answers. He does not need to meet these other people right away, and they'll be happy to let him think about it. They will be happy to entertain any kink of his that does not involve shit, blood, vomit, or interrogation scenes because Tony has history. Bruce understands about having history, and alludes to his own but doesn't go into it because he doesn't want to break down at the table. They don't press, and when his French dip arrives, he still has an appetite. It's a bit sloppy for date food, too, but neither of them seems to be judging him as he eats the entire thing and all its garnishes in between trying to translate his paper for Pepper and asking about Tony's current robotics project.

After a long, leisurely lunch, they take him back to the cafe, since he's not quite ready for them to know where he lives. They're very good about that, and just each give him a business card with a personal cellphone number scrawled on it, and a peck on the cheek. The phantom feeling of soft lips and of Tony's stubble lingers on his face for a long time afterward, and he orders another cup of tea just to make sure that he's completely calm before walking home.

For the past two years or so, home has been a little apartment that lets him walk to the cafe and to the lab, since a car seems like a pointless extravagance. Now he shuffles up the stairs to water his plants and then meditate for a while. Bruce's standard meditations are three-pronged. One part is the emptying of the conscious mind, and the other two are scripts to meditate upon, one that Bruce is a good person who deserves to not be miserable, and the other that everyone makes mistakes and that to hate himself for an outburst is counterproductive. He concentrates on that one today, reminding himself that he did not actually hurt Tony, and only frightened Pepper a little.

The next morning he texts each of them his number, and gets no answer until Tony wakes up and Pepper gets her lunch break, which happens at about the same time. Pepper just texts a polite thank-you, but Tony calls, full of ill-concealed delight at being contacted.

“Hey, Bruce! What are you doing today?”

Bruce laughs. “Typical question from the idle rich. I get off work at six, though.”

“We should totally get dinner.”

“Little pushy, aren't you?”

“It works for me. If it's not working for you, tell me so. Natasha would have my balls if I harassed you.”

“Natasha's in charge?”

“So in charge, but like we said, you don't have to meet her if you don't want. Do you like Vietnamese or Japanese better?”

Tony steam-rolls all objections, which are halfhearted and voiced out of habit, and Bruce agrees to a bowl of pho at some place that Tony swears is the best in the city. Tony picks him up at the bus stop on the corner, driving something sleek and expensive. Bruce bundles himself into a heated leather seat, and blushes at the way Tony smiles at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Pepper is just looking around the office to be sure that everything is in order before she leaves, when Tony texts her:

_pepper i have a bruce. we're at the place with the pho. gooble gobble one of us. <333_

She laughs, and replies:

_order a plain beef southern style for me, please. also a salted limeade. ETA: ten minutes. and i love you too._

She makes it there in eight minutes exactly, and her pho is still steaming. Bruce is sitting where he can watch the door, and she's struck by him all over again. There's a weird sort of shabby elegance to him, and she's glad that she opted to wear her little grey-green skirt suit today. He gives her one of the sweetest, shyest smiles she has ever seen, and Tony turns to grin at her, waving her over. She kisses him when she gets there, and takes Bruce's hand, giving it a friendly squeeze and asking him how he's doing.

“Better now that I'm being fed so well,” he says, mouth twisting wryly.

Pepper chuckles. “Tony's generosity can be like a force of nature, sometimes.”

“I guess I can cook for you in return, even if I can't fit going out into the budget.”

“That would be lovely,” Pepper says, beginning to eat, and Tony chuckles.

“She's so good at adulting,” he tells Bruce. “Let me know if you're like, on-the-verge-of-eviction broke. I can make you a real loan through a real accountant, nothing sleazy.”

For a moment Bruce looks offended, and then he laughs, his eyes sad. “I might need to take you up on that. I'm getting by right now, but who knows how long it's going to last? You've seen how crazy I am.”

“Aw, honey,” Tony says, taking his hand. “Are you working on it for real?”

“Therapy, medication, meditation, and a journal.”

“Shit, no one can say you're not trying,” Tony says, and Bruce laughs, looking into Tony's eyes in a moment that Pepper wishes she could photograph. Clint has talked about 'compersion,' and Pepper supposes she's feeling it now. They're adorable together, and she really hopes that she'll get to see them kiss at some point, whatever else happens.

Still, they need to take it slow, and she does her best to rein Tony in a little over the course of the meal. He's such an inveterate flirt that he doesn't always realize how forward he's being, and she can see that Bruce is still pretty tense. It doesn't look like fear of them so much as fear of making a fool of himself, and Pepper does her best to be reassuring.

By the time Tony is arguing in favor of dessert, Bruce has relaxed a lot, and Pepper does her best not to beam at him too obviously. Bruce's personal rule about alcohol does not extend to small amounts cooked into things for flavor, and Tony is very relieved that his personal convictions won't keep him from accepting Drunken Banana as his lord and savior. 

Most Asian restaurants offer some kind of fried banana, but these are done with sugar and rum and then covered in crushed peanuts, whipped cream, and cinnamon syrup. It's an enormous, beautiful, and fattening dish, and Pepper is glad to only have to account for about a quarter of it this time, even if she is also helping Bruce finish his pandan jelly.

Afterward, Tony drives them all to Bruce's apartment, and Bruce is far too hospitable not to invite them up. Pepper can tell that he's a little embarrassed about his crappy housing, but Pepper has seen worse, and the parts that Bruce has any control over are nice. His little apartment is threadbare and the colors are horrible, but it's neat and clean and the patched-up furniture is arranged to best advantage, an ornamental blanket tacked to one bare wall and a row of potted plants by the window.

Pepper is pretty sure that Bruce means to keep them at a chaste goodnight kiss apiece, but Tony is Tony. He tangles his fingers into Bruce's hair and melts into him, drawing Pepper close. With both of them pressed up against him in his dreary little kitchenette, something shifts in Bruce. He growls, and holds them almost too tightly, kissing each of them in turn like he can't decide who tastes more delicious, one big hand gripping Tony's ass and making him moan.

"Fuck, yeah," Tony breathes, and shifts to hump Bruce's leg a little because he has no shame. 

Bruce groans and pushes him up against the wall, and Pepper moves with them. She could tell early on that Bruce is a lot more comfortable manhandling men, and now is no exception. Still, he makes no objection to Pepper pressing in from the side and kissing Tony in the hard, sloppy way he likes when he's like this. He whimpers into her mouth and Bruce shudders, kissing both of them on the cheek before he gently pulls away. Tony whines and tries to go after him, but Pepper holds him back. Bruce bites his lip, his expression an uncomfortable mix of sheepishness and bestial hunger.

"I, uh... sorry," he mumbles, and Tony rolls his eyes.

"Bruce, you can do that any time you feel like," he says, flicks an obvious glance down to the front of Bruce's pants and then actually _licks his lips_ , because Tony will never not be incorrigible. Bruce shifts like he wants to cover himself, and Pepper's heart goes out to him.

"Shall I remove Tony?" she asks, lacing her fingers with Tony's.

"...I do have to get up early," Bruce mutters, and Tony sighs.

"Okay, okay. Kiss us goodnight? No funny business, I swear."

"Of course," Bruce says, and comes over to give them each a chaste kiss before Pepper tows Tony out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update, and it's only been a million years! :D


	4. Chapter 4

Tony knows that he can be pushy, but Bruce is a grownup, and Tony does call and ask if he can come over. It's just not classy to mention the lube and condoms hidden in his pockets, that's all. And it's not like they have to use them, even if Bruce so has a gigantic, ridiculous cock, Tony's very favorite kind. He was only like, demi-chub last night, and that was already pretty impressive. He probably won't let Tony touch it today, but if he does, being unprepared will be the single worst thing ever.

Bruce is barely home from work, but he looks genuinely happy to see Tony when he answers the door. "Hey," he says softly, and blushes when Tony kisses him and then strolls on by to claim the couch again. 

It's a surprisingly good couch, for a craptious building like this. Bruce offers him tea, and of course it's weird hippie tea that smells like wet hay, but Tony accepts because he's not a total dick, and it obviously soothes Bruce to have something to do with his hands. Tony could offer him a lot of fun alternatives, but it's probably best to keep his mouth shut for now. Well, shut about that, there's no point in being all awkward. He thanks Bruce for the tea, moves over so he can sit down too, and asks him about his day. He's doing boring shit at that podunk lab, of course, but Tony could listen to him read the phone book, and of course his thoughts on the boring shit he's doing is way more interesting.

Talking science relaxes Bruce enough to snuggle Tony properly, which is nice, and the couch is small enough to give Tony an excuse to climb mostly on top of Bruce. He takes deep breaths and does not hump Bruce's leg. Pepper would be so proud. Instead, Tony nuzzles into the side of Bruce's neck and stays there. As much as Tony loves fucking, this is probably his other favorite thing that isn't science.

"You know," Bruce says at last, "I think this is the longest I've seen you quiet."

"Natasha said that," Tony says, and Bruce chuckles.

"And here I thought we'd have nothing in common."

"Nah," Tony murmurs, looking up at Bruce. "You're both intelligent, well-mannered, and really, really pretty."

Bruce snorts. "Pretty?"

"Yep," Tony says, grinning. "Pretty." He presses a light kiss to the point of Bruce's chin, and can't help a happy little noise when Bruce tilts his head enough to kiss Tony on the mouth.

"God," Bruce murmurs against his lips, and he sounds so shattered that Tony isn't the least bit surprised to be kissed again, rougher this time, as Bruce sits up and gathers Tony into his lap like he weighs nothing. Tony moans happily and shifts to straddle his lap, chuckling at the desperate way Bruce clings to him.

"It's okay, baby," Tony murmurs into his mouth, running his fingers through Bruce's dark curls. "I'm not going anywhere."

Bruce whimpers and grinds up against him and now getting his cock out would really be doing him a service, he's bound up as hell. As Bruce kisses him again, Tony gets a hand between them and Bruce gasps like the touch burns. Tony makes soothing noises as he carefully unbuttons and unzips Bruce's slacks, and Bruce shudders, biting his lip and watching Tony work with wide eyes.

"I'm not gonna be mad if this isn't okay," Tony says softly, exposing a pair of tighty-whiteys that are wet with precome and barely holding back the monster, "but I'm gonna feel like a real shithead if you don't say so."

"It's okay," Bruce whispers, even though he looks nervous as hell, "I'm just--"

"Huge? That's cool," Tony says, and carefully rolls the waistband down, letting Bruce flop out in all his glory. He's only half-hard and already enormous, and Tony sighs happily. He squeezes gently, and Bruce groans, shaking all over. "Man, it's been way too long," Tony says, and Bruce blushes.

"S-sorry," he mutters, and Tony snorts.

"I just can't believe you've been so neglected," Tony says, and brings his other hand to bear as Bruce keeps gaining size. He definitely needs both, and grins at the way Bruce whimpers and squirms. "You're so fucking cute," he says softly, and starts working Bruce with both hands, squeezing and stroking as Bruce moans, clutching weakly at Tony's hair and his shirt. "That's right," Tony croons, "yeah, just like that... Relax, lemme have you."

Bruce laughs breathlessly, and Tony grins, sliding off of his lap to kneel on the floor in front of him. Now he has a lot more room to work, squeezing and stroking with both hands. He wishes he could get his mouth involved, but this is the price he pays for the privilege of tasting Natasha and of swallowing everything Nick and Clint can give him. Besides, this way he can watch Bruce, all flushed and dark-eyed and trying to hide his face with one hand that totally doesn't do it, especially since he wants to watch Tony right back, eyes gleaming between his fingers as his other hand clutches at Tony's shoulder, hanging onto a fistful of his shirt. Tony likes this shirt, but it's wash and wear, it'll be fine.

"Tony," Bruce gasps as his balls draw up, "Tony, you might w-wanna g-get, get out of the way..."

"If that's a nice way of telling me you're gonna come on my face, I am so here for that."

Bruce laughs and then groans, coming all over Tony's face. It's pretty impressive, both in terms of distance and volume, and Tony shudders, jerking Bruce until he gets too sensitive and pulls away. "Y-you okay?" Bruce whispers, and Tony laughs, hauling his shirt off to wipe his face. He's still wearing a ribbed undershirt, because he's not that big on making people look at his surgical scars, and he grins up at Bruce.

"It's jizz, Bruce, not hydrochloric acid," Tony says, balling the shirt up with the stain on the inside.

"Okay," Bruce says, looking slightly nonplussed but far from unhappy.

Tony chuckles, and climbs back up to sit beside him again. "You wanna give me a hand?" He's rock hard by now, of course, and Bruce actually blushes when he risks a glance over.

"I.. yes," he says. He bites his lip for a moment, and then nods decisively and stands up. "Bed," he says, and Tony is more than happy to obey.


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce can't help a moment of fretting about the state of his bedroom, which is little more than a glorified closet and covered with work papers, but the bed is clear and that's all Tony seems to care about. He sprawls out on his back and grins up at Bruce, one idle hand pushing his undershirt up a little.

"Well?" he purrs, and Bruce chuckles, stretching out beside him.

"You'll have to be patient with me," Bruce murmurs, "I'm not a hardened libertine."

"Yet," Tony croons, eyes sparkling with mischief. He rolls into Bruce's arms, and Bruce is amazed all over again at how small he feels. He's a heavy, warm little armful, and presses up against Bruce like he has never done anything else. Bruce buries his face in Tony's hair and just breathes him in for a moment. He hasn't felt this nervous and this good at the same time in... ever. He can't help trembling, and Tony rubs his back. "You okay? I can just step off to the crapper, you know."

"No," Bruce growls, more possessively than he means to, tightening his hold. He's ashamed of himself in a second, but Tony just laughs and snuggles closer.

"Fine by me," he says, and moans softly when Bruce rolls onto him, holding most of his weight on his elbows, arms boxing Tony's head in. Tony gazes up at him without a trace of fear or annoyance, and the relief is ridiculously fucking profound. Bruce kisses him softly, pulling back after a moment to look into his eyes again.

"What?" Tony murmurs, stroking his cheek, and Bruce chuckles, turning his head to kiss Tony's palm.

"I'm just... out of practice."

"That's okay, baby," Tony purrs, and tugs Bruce down to kiss him again. "You can just stay where you are and let me do all the work, if you want." He rocks his hips up against Bruce, who can't help growling and reaching down to grip him through his pants and gently squeeze, rolling his palm a little. Tony shudders and moans, wrapping around him. He's so small, and so trusting under Bruce's bigger frame, and it's heartrending and hot and completely unbelievable. He devours Tony's mouth in a rough kiss, rubbing him until he gasps for Bruce to stop so he can get out of his pants.

"I mean, why make a huge mess when I can get away with a small mess?" he says, wriggling out of them. His damp underwear is bright red, and Bruce is completely unsurprised both by that and the way it clings and shapes. "Man, you should see Nick sometime, he's like a goddamn precome _fountain_ ," Tony says, and hooks his thumbs into the waistband to haul it down, groaning in relief as the cool air hits his cock. It's beautiful, just the right size. It's not a gigantic joke dick like Bruce's, but it's not too small either, and the shaft fits nicely into his hand. 

Once he has it there, it's quick, Tony bucking and moaning under Bruce, slick and hot as he moves faster and faster in Bruce's hand. He babbles encouragement and compliments that can't be true, whimpering as Bruce circles the head of his cock with one thumb, and watching him in fascination, his dark eyes wide and a little glazed. Bruce shudders, covering Tony's neck in kisses before he has the courage to kiss him on the mouth again, swallowing his deep groan as he comes, hot and sticky all over Bruce's hand.

"Fffuuuck," Tony purrs at last, and laughs, hugging Bruce tightly. "Knew you had good hands," he coos, and Bruce can feel himself blushing. He kisses Tony's forehead and reluctantly extricates himself to wash up, coming back with disinfectant wipes for Tony, who grins and takes them, carefully swabbing himself clean. He grimaces at the realization that there's semen on his undershirt, and it isn't just reflexive disgust. "Shit, I can't wear this," he mutters, and glances up at Bruce. "Go get me my other shirt?"

"That has come on it too," Bruce says, and Tony's face falls for a moment before he starts laughing, tipping back onto the mattress with his arms spread wide, so beautiful it hurts.

"Of course it does," he says, when he can speak again. "Can I borrow one of yours?"

"Sure," Bruce says, even though he only owns about five shirts. There's a deep green button-down in the closet that should work for Tony, and he pulls it out and hands it over. Tony thanks him and vanishes into the bathroom, leaving Bruce to wonder why covering his chest is so important to him. Whatever it is, birthmark, scarring, or third nipple, it doesn't matter to Bruce. He's trying to think of a good way to say so when Tony comes out of the bathroom and latches onto him, making a happy noise and nuzzling fearlessly into Bruce's chest.

"Comfortable there?" Bruce asks, and Tony chuckles.

"Yeah."

"You seem... shorter, somehow."

Tony groans, and looks up at him. "Women get to wear heels without getting a bunch of crap for it," he grumbles, and Bruce laughs, stroking his hair.

"It just makes you cuter," he says, and Tony grins, rising up on his toes to kiss him.

"Smart guy," he says, and relaxes back to his flat-footed height. There's a beep from his phone, and he sighs. "I have some stuff I'm working on, and it's time-sensitive, but I don't want to just bolt off... You wanna come back to my lab for a bit? Maybe meet the others, maybe not, whichever you're up to?"

One the one hand, this is lightning-fast and more than a little scary. On the other, his long-time science crush has invited him to a personal lab, and that's pretty much impossible to resist. When he says so, Tony laughs. "I do everything fast, just let me know when it gets to be too much," he says, and Bruce has to smile. He throws a few things into his bag and follows Tony out the door. Of course he's driving something red, and it looks fast standing still. Bruce breathes very evenly as Tony roars through traffic, skillful and terrifying, assuring Bruce again and again that if they run into the other three, all Bruce has to be is civil.


	6. Chapter 6

Ever since becoming part of Natasha's collective, coming home has been a lot more fun. Now when Pepper shows up wanting to rest her aching feet and tell someone all about her day, it doesn't matter if Tony is buried in the lab. Today Natasha greets her with a kiss, and orders her to sit down and wait for a gin and tonic. This is an easy order to follow, and Pepper settles onto the couch, unbuttoning her blazer and shrugging out of it. By the time Natasha comes back, Pepper has puled her bra out through the armhole of her blouse and slipped out of her high heels. Natasha smiles and sits down beside her, putting an arm around her and offering her a frosty glass.

"Thank you, mistress," Pepper says softly, half-joking but otherwise deeply sincere.

"You're welcome, pet." Natasha kisses her, and then sits back a bit so that Pepper can easily drink.

"Is Tony in the lab?" she asks after a few long, cool swallows, leaning into Natasha's side.

"He is," Natasha says. "With a friend, actually." Pepper can feel herself blushing, and Natasha's smile widens. "I thought so," she purrs. "He's cute."

"Cute and very shy," Pepper says. "I'm glad he felt comfortable enough to accept the invitation."

"I have the feeling that intense lab-lust was involved," Natasha says, and Pepper giggles.

They linger together on the couch for a while, Pepper sipping her drink and telling Natasha about her day, but at last the drink and the telling are done, and Natasha says that of course she doesn't mind if Pepper goes back to the lab to check on her boys. Natasha puts it like that too, and Pepper blushes again on her way out to the lab. Bruce probably doesn't want to be their boy, at least not yet, but the idea is a very appealing one.

The lab is in its own little outbuilding, the renovated carriage house of an adjacent property, and Pepper isn't surprised that she needs to buzz three times to be let in, especially when the door finally opens and spills out hard rock cranked up way too high, Tony's preferred work soundtrack.

"Pepper!" Tony cries, eyes lit with slightly manic joy. 

She chuckles and lets him pull her into his arms. "Having fun?" she asks, trying not to yell in Tony's ear as the volume lowers.

"You know it!" he chirps, and leans in to nuzzle her nose and then kiss her, keeping his arm around her waist as he pulls away, ushering her over to where a collection of pistons are doing external condom tests. Bruce is sitting there taking notes, shirtless in the heat of the working machinery. Tony had of course reported back to her all about his tryst with Bruce, but it's another thing altogether to see some of the view for herself at last. The charm is only enhanced when Bruce sees her noticing and blushes, and she smiles, making her way along the circuit route between the machines to Bruce. He looks a little awkward, like he's not sure if he should stand or of his welcome at all. Pepper settles the issue for him by sitting on his lap, something she often does to Tony in this limited space.

"Uh, hi," Bruce says softly, and Pepper smiles, kissing his cheek. His stubble is starting to come in, and Pepper nuzzles his prickly cheek.

"Hi. How are the tests going?"

"Pretty well, so far," he says, and soon he's telling her all about this new polymer Tony is working on. 

Tony has told her before, of course, but you learn something new every day. More importantly, talking about science relaxes Bruce. She can feel tension leaving his muscles as he talks, and he loops his arms around her a bit more casually, less like he might not be allowed. Pepper smiles, and kisses his cheek again, making a small and happy noise as he turns his head to kiss her mouth. It's soft, but very warm and lingering, and Pepper melts into it a little, and slips out of her shoes again to cuddle closer. Bruce shivers, and he holds her protectively, but also like he's afraid of crushing her. Pepper does her best to not be alarming, and Bruce moans almost inaudibly, kissing her again. He really is strong as he cradles Pepper, and that's compared to Tony, Clint, and Nick, still a force to be reckoned with after all these years. Pepper smiles and puts one hand over Bruce's. He tenses like he thinks this is a signal to stop, and then relaxes as Pepper slips her fingers between his.

"It's okay," she murmurs, lips nibbling along his jawline, "I like the way you feel."

Bruce makes a tiny whimpering noise, and suddenly Tony is close again, his body heat added to Bruce's as he hangs around his shoulders to watch the kiss. "Man, I only got him to make that noise by grinding on his dick," he says, and Bruce chuckles breathlessly.

"I've got some issues with women," he murmurs, "but not the hostile kind."

"And you can tell us about them when you're ready," Pepper says, kissing his cheek again. "Don't let Tony interrogate you."

"Pepper, baby, you wound me," Tony whines, and Bruce chuckles, reaching back and gripping Tony's hair affectionately, which does a good job for shutting him up for the moment.

"Glad to see you're figuring that one out," Pepper says, and rises on her knees, straddling Bruce's lap to lean across him and kiss Tony. This also puts her tits right in his face, but that's only to be expected, Bruce shudders and makes a tiny, helpless noise of appreciation, his hands settling on her hips as he nuzzles into her chest, her nipples rock hard through the thin, smooth material of her blouse.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony can't remember being particularly good this year, but apparently it's Christmas already. He has Bruce in his lab, whimpering, with a lapful of Pepper. This is the best thing ever. Of course Bruce is still holding Pepper like he might breathe too hard and break her, but there's time to train him out of that. For now, Tony just leans in and starts covering Bruce's neck with kisses before biting him just to hear him gasp. He moves outward from there, getting his mouth all over Bruce's perfect goddamn shoulders like he has wanted to for some time, now.

"You have no idea what a sexy beast you are, do you?" he murmurs, and Bruce lets out a breathless laugh.

"I would try to avoid the cliche," Pepper says, kissing the side of Bruce's neck, "but it is true."

"Seriously, how can all this barely-hidden muscle not be hot?" Tony mumbles, hands sliding around Bruce's chest to feel him up. "Shit, you could probably bench press me if you needed to. For some fucking reason." He's talking into the nape of Bruce's neck again, but that's no reason to shut up. "I'd let you, anyway. It'd be hot if you didn't hurt your back."

Bruce breaks into breathless laughter, still partially muffled by Pepper's tits. "Maybe if we have someone to spot us. Pepper?"

"Sorry, I took an oath to stop helping Tony do stupid things a few years ago," she says, giggling, and tips Bruce's face up to kiss him on the mouth again. 

Bruce makes this awesome really low growly noise and melts into it like he has never done anything else. Tony bites him again and gives his nipples an experimental rub, pleased to feel him shiver. "You like that?" he murmurs, slowly pinching and making Bruce groan, so low it's almost another growl. Tony shivers and bites him, hands still busy on his chest. And then the door opens and Bruce tenses all over and probably only doesn't leap to his feet because that would mean dumping Pepper on her trim little ass.

"Hey, Natasha was-- oh, sorry," Clint says, standing there and looking slightly foolish. "Sorry, but you didn't put anything red up, and the lab door is always closed."

Tony sighs "Yeah, it's true." He hugs Bruce tightly around the shoulders. "Relax, big guy. It's just Clint. I know I said you didn't have to meet anybody, but he's gotta be the least alarming."

"You don't have to come to dinner," Clint says soothingly, "but Natasha wanted me to let Tony and Pepper know."

"Thank you," Pepper says, lightly swinging her feet. She occupies Bruce's lap like she lives there, and Tony is even more delighted with her than usual.

"Uh, thanks..." Bruce says, still blushing and clinging to Pepper a little. Tony hates to see him distressed at all, but this isn't very distressed and it is really cute. "Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course," Clint says, with that smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes and makes Tony want to kiss him. He doesn't want to abandon Bruce, though, so he just blows Clint a kiss. Clint chuckles and catches it, pressing it to his lips. He winks at Pepper and blows her a kiss of her own, and then heads out again. As soon as he's gone, Bruce hides his face in Pepper's shoulder and makes a weird sort of embarrassed whine. It's cute, and he relaxes a little when Tony kisses his neck again.

"It's okay, baby," he croons, and Pepper strokes Bruce's hair. He does relax a bit between them, and Tony sighs happily.

"There you go," he murmurs. "And you don't have to come to dinner. Shit, if you want I can order pizza and we can stay here all night long."

"...It's probably a bad sign that that sounds good, isn't it?" Bruce mutters, and Pepper laughs.

"I would be nervous in your position, too," she says, and kisses his forehead. "You do whatever you're comfortable with, Bruce."

"I... I'm worried that I'll be the problem," Bruce whispers, his voice so small and heartbroken that Tony hugs him tightly around the back of the chair.

"Baby..." he says, unsure how he means to continue. 

Bruce lets out a cracked little chuckle and pats Tony's hand. "I have serious emotional problems," he says, and Tony does his best not to cackle, putting in a lot of effort to keep his voice even.

"Bruce, you just described most of this household. Pepper's on drugs for her anxiety, Clint was abused as a kid and a lot of people would say I was, Nick is career military and has thereby Seen Some Shit, and Natasha's parents died early."

"...I guess collectively that about covers it. I have my own damage, and it makes me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry, because nobody does."

"I dunno, would you be up for some rage-humping?"

"Tony," Pepper says sharply, and he can feel Bruce tensing up.

"Sorry, sorry." He kisses the back of Bruce's neck. "We can have peaceful zen sex," he murmurs, and Bruce relaxes again, rolling his eyes and hugging Pepper.

"That works better for me," he says, and Tony nuzzles his hair.

"Good. But I need to eat something first. I was serious about ordering pizza, just let me know."

Bruce sighs. "For future reference, I like spinach and mushrooms--"

"You filthy hippie. You're lucky you're cute."

"--and for now I guess I can face the others like an adult."

Pepper frets a little, of course, but Bruce really does seem calm and resolved. Tony helps him to smooth his hair and find his shirt, and then strolls back to the house with Bruce on one arm and Pepper on the other. He can feel Bruce tensing a little again as they approach, and hugs his arm a little tighter. At least the house is perfumed with chicken and dumplings. Whenever it's Nick's turn to cook, he has a tendency to make delicious comfort food, and if Bruce is steeling himself to eat at the table with everyone else, he could hardly have picked a better day.


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce really has no idea what to expect from this situation, but it's not as tense as it could be. Clint is setting out the last of the silverware, and glances up with a smile, gesturing to one of the empty chairs. Bruce settles into it, with Tony on one side and Pepper on the other. He's grateful to have them bracketing him like this, and glances over at Natasha, who smiles and offers him her tiny hand. He grips it in greeting, careful not to hold on too hard or too long.

"I'm Natasha, queen of all we survey except for you," she says, letting go. "This is Nick," she adds as the last member of the group comes bustling out of the kitchen with a big serving dish. 

The facial scars and the eyepatch look a little funny in such a domestic setting, but he moves like he couldn't possibly belong anywhere else. He gives Bruce a small smile and a pat on the shoulder with one oven mitt as he goes back to the kitchen with Clint in tow. They're back in a moment with the last of the meal, and Nick carefully serves everyone at the table with almost maternal care. Bruce's throat goes a little tight because he hasn't had many cozy, homemade dinners in his life (at least with other people around) and is oversensitive to this kind of thing. It's all right, though. He takes a deep breath, and thanks Nick for his own generous plate. He doesn't touch it until Natasha starts, but she does so immediately and soon he's covered, conversations rising up around him. 

Clint has apparently gone back to college, which is cause for Tony to tease him about being a sexy schoolboy. Clint just gives him a friendly leer and promises to break out the uniform if Tony is that interested. Pepper flicks a nervous look over at Bruce, but he smiles. This isn't his damage, they'll be fine. Really, Nick is probably the biggest and most obviously formidable guy present, but he's being low-key and almost maternal, to say nothing of the scars, the blackness, and the patch making him seem almost nothing like Bruce's father. He watches Bruce, but in a kind way, and is quick to serve him a second helping.

"Glad you approve, Papa Bear," Tony coos, watching this performance, and Nick rolls his eye.

"You know I like all your friends, darling." 

He says it in a syrupy tone that does make Bruce a little nervous, but it doesn't really sound like Father making an ostentatious and bad-faith effort to keep his temper. There's a warmth to it, a humorous, tolerant lilt that keeps Bruce relatively calm. He can feel his heart rate going up a little, but he just thanks Nick, takes several deep breaths, and lets the murmurs of conversation relax him. Everything is fine here. And if anyone starts to yell or hit, he doesn't have to stay. He flinches a little in surprise at a touch on his right hand, and then smiles, realizing that it's Pepper. He wraps his hand around her tiny one, and gives her a reassuring squeeze. He's all right. Everything is all right.

After dinner Tony disappears into the kitchen because it's his turn to do the dishes, and the rest of the group ends up gathered in the living room, where Natasha shows Nick and Pepper some of the clothes she'll be wearing for the next shoot while Clint starts playing some puzzle platformer that Bruce doesn't recognize. He alternates between watching Clint's little avatar scramble across the level, and admiring particularly nice pieces when Pepper points them out to him. Bruce has never cared much about clothes, but he has to admire the structural engineering of some of this footwear.

At long last Tony emerges from the kitchen and settles himself into Bruce's lap like he belongs there. It feels a bit as if he does, and Bruce wraps his arms around Tony, enjoying how small and how solid he is.

"You okay, big guy?" Tony murmurs, and Bruce chuckles.

"I am. I've been admiring the elegant way all these dominatrix boots meet their engineering challenges."

"It's fucking great, isn't it?" Tony chirps, and then he's off, describing his own efforts in making a stronger high heel, punctuating his words with the kind of extravagant hand gestures that really should make Bruce tense. Somehow it never feels like Tony is going to hit him, no matter how sudden his movements or how much he waves his arms around.

Things even stay calm when Clint goes to get everyone an after-dinner drink. It helps that when Bruce declines booze, Clint just offers him a range of soft drink options with no further comment. The green tea actually sounds the best, but Bruce doesn't want to put him to the trouble. Besides, homemade lemonade isn't exactly a sharp stick in the eye. He thanks Clint for the tall, cool glass that he receives, and sips it slowly while the others work on cocktails and beer. He hasn't been around this many people with liquor for a long time, but it's calm. No one is even getting drunk, let alone angry drunk.

Still, Bruce can't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he and Pepper climb into Tony's car for the drive back to his apartment. Tony looks over at Bruce in the passenger seat, and smiles. "Okay?"

"Okay," Bruce says softly, as they pull out of the driveway. It's not really okay, he's a fucking monster that can barely function in society. The thought weighs on him as they drive through the night streets, and finally it breaks out at a stoplight.

"I'm not okay," Bruce says, and grimaces at the concern on both of their faces, and the guilt. "You haven't done anything wrong," he says, staring straight out at the road ahead. "I haven't done anything wrong... yet. But I will." They both have the sense to stay quiet, and Bruce gathers steam as he goes on. "We're all damaged, but I'm dangerous. You haven't seen it yet, but you will. I'll get angry and it won't stop and someone will get hurt, hopefully me. Because I'm a monster."


	9. Chapter 9

After Bruce's little speech, Pepper has no idea what to say. More notably, Tony doesn't, either. The silence rolls on until he pulls into a space near the building and then gets out, opening Pepper's door for her.

"I figured we should escort our dear friend up, if you don't mind."

"I don't," she says, and hops out. Bruce is standing there on the sidewalk looking like he isn't sure what's happening, and Tony takes his hand.

"C'mon," he says, "let us walk you up."

Bruce sighs, but he nods, too, and Pepper takes his other hand. They walk in silence into the building and up the rickety little stairs, and all stand around on the threadbare hall carpet while they wait for Bruce to get his door unlocked. He leads the way inside because he knows where the light switches are. A few vague silhouettes of potted plants spring into full color, and Pepper smiles, looking around the neat little room. Tony takes her hand and tows her to the couch, where he settles with her in his lap while Bruce starts brewing tea. His shoulders still look tense, but he seems a little calmer now.

"C'mere," Tony says, reaching out. For a moment Pepper is sure it won't work, and then Bruce is snuggled up next to them. Tony sighs and rests his head on Bruce's shoulder, and Pepper smiles.

"That's better," she says, and Bruce makes a quiet sound of amusement, going slightly pink over the cheekbones.

"You can't talk us out of you, baby," Tony says, and Bruce sighs.

"Actions speak louder than words, and that's what I'm worried about," he mutters, tilting his head to rest his cheek on Tony's hair.

"I suck to live with too," Tony says, putting an arm around his waist. "Pepper probably would've left my ass if we hadn't gotten involved with Natasha."

"I would not," Pepper says, and then chuckles. "Okay, maybe. You are a pain in the ass." She kisses Tony's cheek and then puts a gentle one on Bruce's mouth that makes him shiver, almost too finely to feel.

"So," Tony says softly, sliding his arm from around Bruce's waist, "you should tell me if I'm not supposed to touch the boner you totally have."

"Well, if I can't talk you out of me..." Bruce says, and Pepper is glad to hear him sound that relaxed. 

She kisses him again and he sighs a little, cupping her face in one big hand. He's still touching her like he's not sure he's allowed to, and Pepper carefully deepens the kiss, licking her way into Bruce's mouth as he makes a low, slightly dangerous growling noise in his chest. Pepper can't help shivering, and when Bruce draws back like he just hurt her, she shifts from Tony's lap to his, twining her arms around his neck.

"You're not getting away from her this time, Bruce," Tony says, and Bruce chuckles breathlessly as Pepper kisses his neck.

"Unless you want to," Pepper murmurs, nibbling the edge of his ear,"but I can't say that I won't be disappointed."

"Anything for a lady, I guess," Bruce says, with another nervous little laugh. He rests his hands on Pepper's hips for a moment, and when she tugs at his hands to encourage him, gently pushes her blouse up. Pepper reaches back and unhooks her bra, and she doesn't need to tell Bruce to help her pull it off. He's hard enough now that his jeans must be hurting him, but he's still very controlled, keeping his breathing steady.

"You know we won't judge you if you sniff it, right?" Tony asks, and Bruce laughs. 

And then he does bring the bra to his face, and Pepper can't help a little noise of her own to see him basking in her scent like that. Bruce sets it aside after a long moment, and gazes up into Pepper's eyes like he's looking for news of his fate. With no idea what to say, she settles for kissing him again, and if she grinds on him a little, well, she's only human. Bruce shudders and gasps, and Pepper smiles, nuzzling along his cheek to trace the tip of her tongue around his ear, making him groan quietly and bite his lip, his whole body tense, like he's trying to hold himself together.

"It's okay," Pepper croons, barely audible. "It's okay, sweetheart."

Bruce whines and squirms, taut stillness turning into trembling. Tony's hand sneaks between them to give him a friendly squeeze, and Bruce lets out a helpless, pained noise.

"Come on, big guy," Tony coaxes, "let us get you out of these."

"Okay," Bruce whispers, his arms tightening around Pepper like he needs to hold onto her for support. "Okay."

Pepper kisses his forehead and then slides off of his lap. Her panties are already soaked and she _aches_ , but Bruce has to set the pace. He takes another deep breath and then stands up, taking each of them by the hand and leading the way to his bedroom. He's tense all over, but not in a reluctant way. Pepper wonders if he thinks he's a monster because of sadistic impulses. She has never been very fond of pain, but Tony is another story altogether.

The bedroom is tiny and cluttered with a whirlwind of books and papers, but it smells clean and the bed is made. Tony flops onto it with a happy sigh, and Pepper smiles, sitting on the edge and working her way out of her skirt and stockings. Bruce unzips his jeans and lets out a quiet little moan of relief. His grey boxer-briefs are wet, and he peels them off carefully.

"God," Tony sighs, "I could watch this all day."


	10. Chapter 10

It takes forever, but finally Bruce stretches out between them, naked and flushed with what's probably a combination of arousal and embarrassment and that's just _adorable_. He still has his glasses on and the whole thing is like the best month on some Shy And Ridiculously Hot Nerds calendar. Tony means to tell him so, but his mouth elects to attach itself to one of Bruce's nipples instead and he can't seriously call that a bad idea. Apparently Bruce can't, either, since he just groans and grabs Tony's hair to keep him there, like he's actually worried about Tony stopping with that kind of encouragement. Pepper just takes in the view for a while, and then gets her pretty little mouth onto the other side, which makes Bruce make this wonderful strangled squeak, like he can't believe this is happening. 

A glance to the side lets Tony see that he's holding Pepper's hair, too, but a lot more carefully. It's sweet, if a little sad. And then nothing is sad because Pepper's slender, white hand is sliding down Bruce's delightfully furry belly to make its acquaintance with that enormous cock. Bruce shudders and gasps when she makes contact, even more precome beading at the tip.

"Wow," Pepper murmurs, just getting a feel for the size of it with a few friendly squeezes. 

Her dainty hand looks fucking incredible on Bruce's monster cock, and Tony kind of wishes that he could get a framed glossy photo of this, blown up larger than life. He settles for watching instead, pinching Bruce's nipple to make up for the lack of suction. Bruce barely gets out half of a plaintive noise before it turns into a deep, happy growl, and Tony smiles.

"You think you could fit that, Pepper?" he murmurs, and Bruce's cock twitches in her hand even as his facial expression looks a little alarmed. "Not right _now_ , Brucie bear," Tony croons, giving that stiff nipple a loving lick. "We'll work up to that."

Bruce chuckles weakly. "Okay," he gasps, and then whines sharply and Pepper rubs her thumb over and over his slit, slathering the broad head of his cock with precome.

"I think I could get at least half of you," Pepper says, nibbling on Bruce's neck. "I'd have to be really wet, but I don't think that would be a problem."

"O-oh?" Bruce asks, a little arch even now, and Pepper beams at him.

"Yeah," she says, and takes his hand, guiding it between her legs as she slithers out of her soaked panties at last.

Bruce's eyes get huge, but not in a bad way if his helpless, shaky sigh is any indication. He slides one finger into Pepper and then two, curling them up delicately and feeling for her g-spot like a man who knows. Pepper can be a little tricky that way, but Bruce finds just the right touch in record time, making her curse and clutch at his shoulders. Bruce whimpers when her nails dig in, but it's not an unhappy sound at all.

At this point Tony has to get out of his fucking pants. He's gonna keep his undershirt on since massive cardiac surgery scars are such a boner-kill, but everything else must go. While he's struggling out of his clothes, Bruce starts finger-fucking Pepper properly, making her pant and moan quietly, rocking on his hand.

"Is it okay if I just hump your leg like a badly-trained dog?" Tony asks, and Bruce lets out a breathless laugh.

"I guess that's okay," he says softly, and then moans as Pepper bites his chest. 

Tony slides one thigh between Bruce's, and soon he and Pepper are both humping Bruce's legs. It's kind of a shame, with that huge cock right there and all, but of course getting too pushy and driving Bruce off would be way worse. And this way Tony gets to admire the equipment. If he had any artistic talent that wasn't blueprint-related, he'd write a sonnet about Bruce's cock. When he actually says that out loud Bruce laughs so hard he can barely keep his hand moving for Pepper.

"You are so fucking weird, Tony," he gasps, and Pepper giggles and then moans as the laughter makes her tighten on Bruce's fingers. 

Pepper starts to gasp barely-audible directions to Bruce, and Tony half-sprawls across Bruce to play with her nipples instead, because they're just as pretty as Bruce's, and sometimes this is just the last push she needs to come. Now turns out to be one of those times, and Tony groans and ruts hard along Bruce's hip as Pepper cries out and shakes in the way Tony has come to love so very much. It's a loud, sharp sound, and Bruce looks a bit alarmed for a second, but has the sense not to stop, relaxing as Pepper shudders and clings to him in a way he'd have to be stupid not to recognize.

Having Pepper all loose-jointed and sated in his arms seems to relax Bruce a lot. He's so hard it kinda hurts to look at him, but he smiles and cuddles Pepper like a kid with a teddy bear, looking quite content. Tony lets them snuggle for a bit, and rubs a few circles on Pepper's back because she likes that and her skin is so soft there's probably some kind of rule against it.

"Give me a hand?" Tony murmurs after Pepper has had a minute to cool down, wrapping his hand around Bruce's cock.

"Any time," Bruce says, and suits actions to words. He's really fucking good with his hands, as so many scientists are, and Tony moans, fucking into his tight grip and imagining that huge cock inside him, how carefully they'd have to ease it in, and then all of Bruce's controlled strength behind each thrust...

They come within a breath of each other, Tony moaning and Bruce letting out something guttural and loud. He keeps shaking for a long time afterward, and Tony and Pepper hold him between them, breathing with him and grounding him.


	11. Chapter 11

"So," Tony drawls, nuzzling his face into Bruce's chest hair, "does your mom say we can bunk over?"

It's a testament to how melted Bruce is that he can only tense a little. "Seriously don't talk about my mother," he says, trying to keep it firm without snapping, "and yes."

"Okay," Tony says softly, and hides his face in Bruce's chest again like he's sure he's in trouble, shoulders drawn up. Bruce hugs him tightly with one arm, the other still wrapped around Pepper.

"It's not your fault," Bruce says, and kisses the top of Tony's head, relieved to feel him relaxing again. He's going to have to tell them about his parents someday, but he can't bear to do it now. He can't think of anything else to say, either, and so he just holds both of them, Pepper rubbing a soothing circle on his belly.

It's cozy, having the two of them sleep over. Tony still refuses to be shirtless, but he and Pepper both use Bruce's tiny shower before he gets in to use the last ragged edge of the hot water. They're curled up in his bed when he comes back to it, both of them sleek and damp and adorable. Tony reaches for him, making grabby hands, and Pepper chuckles. Bruce carefully climbs in between them again, sighing as he eases back into the pillows.

Bruce doesn't have as many nightmares these days, and he's glad not to wake anyone up. Instead he wakes up early the way he can't help doing, and actually has some company. It's Saturday, but Pepper is stuck on lark time too, so Bruce can teach her how to make millet porridge. 

Watching it come together she suddenly giggles, glancing back toward the bed. "Tony will be horrified," she explains, and Bruce chuckles.

"Well, there is some bacon in the freezer, if it comes to that," he says, and starts slicing avocados, glad to have three ripe ones and company at the same time. He leaves one intact for whenever Tony wakes up, and makes some tea for himself and Pepper. Over breakfast he learns all about her, and starts to really get why she and Tony are part of a larger system. Without even meaning to, Tony can not so much overshadow Pepper as blast her out with his own nearly-dangerous radiance. It's good to talk to her alone.

And it's good when Tony wakes up, mumbling complaints about being abandoned before staggering up and into the kitchen, crawling into Bruce's lap and clinging to him. He keeps grumbling, but now it's about filthy hippies who drink tea and make vegetarian breakfasts and what even is that slop.

"It's millet, darling," Bruce croons, "and I do have coffee for guests."

"I could use some, myself," Pepper says, and since Tony won't really let Bruce up, he has to just tell her where everything is. 

He doesn't have a Kuerig or anything like that, but Pepper turns out to know her way around his thrift store percolator just fine. Soon she can hand Tony a huge cup of black coffee, and his grumbling turns into quietly contented noises as he slurps it down, his free hand wrapped up in Bruce's bathrobe.

"Better, baby?" Bruce asks, only half kidding. He strokes Tony's hair, and Tony shivers happily.

"Yeah," Tony mumbles, and shifts to straddle Bruce's lap, sleepily beaming at him for a just a little snapshot of moment before he kisses Bruce, purring into his mouth and just melting against him, rock hard, as Bruce might have expected. Tony does manage to not drop his cup, and as Bruce growls and knots his hand into Tony's hair, he's dimly grateful for that because he doesn't have a lot of dishware. A soft touch on his shoulders makes him tense for a moment, and then he realizes that it's Pepper, leaning in to kiss his cheek and to catch Tony's mouth for a second when he pulls away to breathe. Bruce relaxes into her touch, and sighs as she kisses the side of his neck. Tony bites him on the other side, and Bruce's hands start sliding up his shirt of their own volition, and it isn't until Tony tenses all over that Bruce remembers about the shirt.

"Sorry," he murmurs, settling his hands on Tony's hips.

"Nah," Tony murmurs, nibbling at his jawline. "I'm just vain. Let's go back to bed and I'll show you the whole fuckin' mess."

"You don't have to," Bruce says, even as he helps Tony to his feet.

"I know I don't," Tony says, "but I can't wear this shirt forever." He still looks comforted to take Pepper's hand, giving it a friendly squeeze before reaching out for Bruce.

Bruce supposes that he shouldn't be surprised that Tony flops onto his back on the center of the bed and pushes the shirt halfway up, posed with a hand on his toned belly while he waits for Bruce and Pepper to arrange themselves around him. Once he's sure that they're comfortable, he snatches the shirt off in one defiant movement, and Bruce has to kiss him again before he even glances at the scars. They are extensive, and look like emergency heart surgery done by someone with just enough expertise to not kill the patient. He looks back up to Tony's face, and the uncertainty there is painful. Bruce can't think of anything to say, so he just lowers his head and starts tracing each one with kisses. Tony makes a noise that's hard to classify, and buries his fingers in Bruce's hair, following his motion rather than trying to direct it. Pepper starts kissing Tony's neck and chest while Bruce maps Tony's chest. Whatever did this, there are no words for how glad he is that Tony survived it.

"P-pretty gnarly, right?" Tony breathes, and Bruce presses a kiss over his heart.

"Yeah," he murmurs, and Tony snickers.

"Smooth, Banner. Ow!"

"You be nice," Pepper chides, and Tony moans as she soothes the bite with her tongue.


	12. Chapter 12

Pepper has been moral support for Tony as he reveals his scars before, and this is absolutely one of the easiest times. Bruce takes it like a scientist, just doing his best to observe and inquire. In that spirit of scientific inquiry, he gets his mouth on Tony's nipple and makes the glorious discovery of how sensitive he is. As he latches on and suckles, Pepper pinches the other side and Tony groans, clutching at both of them. Bruce makes a soft, sweet noise that makes something inside Pepper twist. She buries her fingers in Bruce's curls along with Tony, both of them holding him where he is. 

By the time they switch sides, Bruce is rocking a little against the mattress, and because Tony has to run before he walks, he gasps, "So, wanna fuck me?"

Bruce stops, and takes a deep breath, almost like he's trying to keep his temper. "Yes," he says at last, and trembles all over.

"Sweet, I brought a couple condoms that'll actually fit your huge cock," Tony says, and Bruce goes bright red, hiding his face against Tony's belly.

Pepper slides out of bed to go get them. Yet another thing that always used to cause conflict with Tony is that he wakes up horny and she doesn't. She'll probably be aching while she watches them fuck, but it will take a while. When she comes back from going through Tony's pockets, Bruce is rutting against him and groaning into his mouth.

"Did you bring lube, Tony?" Pepper asks, pulling up a chair for optimum voyeurism.

"Fuck," he mutters, "knew I forgot something."

"Nightstand drawer," Bruce gasps, and then he's kissing Tony again. Sure enough, there's a half tube of something that will probably work, even if Natasha has them used to the good stuff. She passes it to Bruce along with the condom, and he thanks her, quiet and tense and very controlled. Tony waits for him to take one of those deep, grounding breaths, and only then does he start telling him to get on with it.

"He's always like this," Pepper says, and Bruce chuckles, breathless and a little wild-eyed as he starts working one slick finger into Tony, who squirms and presses down on it, struggling to get more.

"I'm taking my time, Tony," Bruce tells him, "and there's nothing you can do about it." A look flickers over his face like he's afraid that was too much, but really, it's the exact right thing to say to Tony at a moment like this, and Tony melts into the mattress. 

Tony still complains, breathlessly and interspersed with whimpering, as Bruce takes his time, but he stays still like a good boy. Bruce has the kind of good, steady hands that you get with a lot of lab work, as Pepper knows from experience. She shivers happily, thighs pressed together. When Bruce goes from two fingers to three, Tony flings out one helpless hand and Pepper takes it, lacing her fingers through his.

Tony is begging by the time Bruce decides that he's stretched enough, and she kisses his hand to give him strength as he waits for Bruce to get the condom on and get them lined up. Bruce's hands are a little shaky again and he seems positively timid when he at last asks if Tony is ready and gets a burst of profanity in response. That seems to hearten him up a little, and a second later he's finally really pressing in, and Tony groans and his entire body shudders and relaxes in a way that Pepper is always delighted to be so familiar with. She slides off of the chair to kneel by the bed, since it's way easier to kiss Tony this way. He clutches at Bruce with one hand and grabs her breast with the other, of course. She leans into his practiced grip and swallows up his desperate moans as Bruce sinks into him, panting harsh and loud, his eyes huge behind his crooked glasses. 

Pepper takes a glance down and sees that half of that massive length is buried inside Tony, and then giggles as Bruce comes to a stop and Tony starts swearing at him again. "You'd better give him the rest," she says, and Bruce laughs, breathless and shattered, and moans quietly as he presses deeper. The sound takes on a faint note of shock when he finally bottoms out, and Tony smirks up at him.

"Told you," he says, and wraps his legs around Bruce's waist. 

Bruce just growls and kisses him like he's trying to climb inside him, using Tony's hair to move him wherever he wants him. Pepper stretches out beside them for a while, watching as Bruce keeps devouring Tony's mouth as he starts to move. Pepper can see the moment when he's finally sure that Tony can take it, that he can fuck him the way he wants to. It's a sort of ripple of tension that flows out over his entire body and leaves him bestial, growling as he slams into Tony, making him howl until Pepper covers his mouth. He moans against it and then licks her hand, a signal to let him say something.

"Yes, baby?" she coos, and he grins, panting as Bruce keeps rutting into him.

"I was thi-thinkin'-- _fuck,_ there!--th-that I could h-have my, my favorite gag, ohgod..." He trails off and then yelps as Bruce bites his neck, and then relaxes, panting as Bruce sees Pepper going to straddle Tony's face and holds still to let her maneuver. She smiles at Bruce, who actually _blushes_ , almost balls-deep in Tony.

Pepper smiles at him. "Pussy is Tony's favorite gag," she says, and lowers herself onto Tony's mouth where he confirms her words with a grateful moan.


	13. Chapter 13

Out of all the various sexual configurations Tony has participated in during his life, this is absolutely one of his favorites. Just being pounded by a huge cock and having a girl sit on his face at the same time in general, not even factoring in how good it is with Bruce and Pepper. In short, today is the greatest day, and he would say so if he could do anything but moan into Pepper's flesh. He's hanging onto her thighs in some futile bid to stay grounded, his legs clinging to Bruce, who has made some kind of werewolf transformation from shrinking violet to ravening cockmonster. Lucky for everyone, Tony likes ravening cockmonsters. 

He gives Bruce all the encouragement he can, with heartfelt noises and desperately clinging legs, most of his effort directed toward licking his way up into Pepper just the way she likes. She's as delicious as ever, and by the time this is over his whole face is going to be glazed like a fucking doughnut and he could not be happier about it. Tony has always prided himself on giving good head, but living with Natasha really has been like some kind of finishing school for cunnilingus technique. Pepper starts to cry out above him, and then it sounds like she bites onto her hand, weight shifting a little as she brings her arm up. Tony rolls his tongue in a particular way that Natasha taught him and Pepper squeals a little through her nose, grinding down onto his mouth. For a while there he can't breathe and he doesn't even care. 

This whole time it's not as if Bruce has stopped or even slowed down, and Tony's starting to wonder if he won't even need anyone to touch his cock. Of course he'd still like that, but he might not need it, stretched and stuffed and with Bruce hitting like, four of the right spots at any one time. When Pepper's thighs start to shake and she barely muffles a loud cry as she comes all over his face, Tony is sort of surprised not to go off when she does.

Bruce whimpers, and Tony can feel him watching Pepper as Tony laps her through the last of it, careful with her sensitized clit. She stays on him for a while, softly panting to a stop, and Tony can't even be mad that Bruce has gone still, just watching her. She sits up and shifts off to the side and Tony cautiously opens his eyes, glad to find that they're not glued shut. Pepper beams down at him, and then callously abandons them both to get paper towels so she can swab Tony's face off before she kisses him. He makes a little complaining noise as she goes, and Bruce looks down at him with tender concern in the middle of his desperate ravening cockmonster lust.

"She'll be back," Tony says, and tugs at Bruce's hips. "So move, dammit!" Bruce laughs, and finally starts to properly fuck him again. He starts out slow and deep, and by the time Pepper is back with the paper towels, Tony is a helpless, moaning mess. She makes soothing noises at him and wipes him off before giving him the kind of kiss that would knock his brain offline if he was thinking straight in the first place. As it is he just whimpers and clings to her with his arms and Bruce with his legs. It's a good thing that Pepper is here and kissing him within an inch of his life, because Bruce wraps a hand around his cock at last, jerking Tony in time to his thrusts. It takes about three seconds for him to come, whatever loud noise he makes muffled by Pepper. And then he has to pull away from Pepper to gasp for Bruce to keep fucking moving. Tony doesn't mind being fucked after he comes, within certain time limits. Bruce stays well within it, biting back something that might be a goddamn roar if he let it out, and Christ, that's hot.

Pepper laughs when Tony says so, and Bruce lets out a weak chuckle, still twitching a little as he softens inside Tony. "All right?" he asks, and Tony laughs.

"Way the fuck better than all right." He sighs as Bruce slides out of him. "God, I'm gonna have to make a cast of that, so I can have it even when you're mad at me."

Bruce bursts into slightly cracked laughter, tipping onto his side, pulling the condom off and knotting it before dropping it into the trashcan on the far side of the bed. "I did always like arts and crafts projects," he says, and Tony and Pepper both giggle, totally fucked out and ridiculous.

"Seriously, Bruce," Tony says, rolling onto his side to face him and then pausing to make a small, pleased noise as Pepper snuggles in against his back, "I like you a lot."

And Bruce still has his fucking glasses on, and they just make his puppy eyes even more devastating. He looks like he's about to timorously ask if Tony is serious, but instead he opts to grab both of them in a crushing hug. Tony plucks his glasses off and passes them to Pepper, who puts them on the nightstand.

"You okay, big guy?" Tony asks, not sure if the way Bruce is trembling right now is the good kind, from unwound tension, or the bad kind, from crashing or being triggered.

"I don't even know," Bruce whispers, and just clings even tighter. 

Tony isn't sure what to fucking do with him, but Pepper slithers out of his grip and crawls over them to sit on Bruce's other side, beckoning him to put his head in her lap. He does, and something about the way Pepper just pets him and makes soothing noises is enough to make him cry. It's quiet, though, more gentle rain than thunderstorm. Tony has seen Clint cry like this, and even if he'll never be comfortable with everyone's goddamn Feelings, he can cope with this.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is a complete emotional 180 from the last chapter. After ages of worrying about it, Bruce does Hulk out and he hates himself for it and is filled with anger sads. Of course the others help him to feel better, but this part is pretty rough. Also, flashbacks to the time he accidentally killed his dad, so please read carefully, Constant Reader.

Bruce can't really get rid of the fear or the preemptive guilt, but Pepper and especially Tony seem to have no interest in heading this whole mess off at the pass. They hold him and soothe him and don't even seem that weirded out when he cries, which would be a first if not for that guy in college, with the cuffs.

The thing is, Bruce is coming off of a six-year dry spell. His priorities are completely misaligned. This whole thing is probably a bad idea, but there's no way he can resist good sex with attractive people who actually like him. He lets them sort of lull him into things, lets himself pretend that he's actually relationship material in any way because it's not just the fucking, it's how sweet they are to him during, before, and after.

He should have known that it was too good to last. Weeks turn into three months of dropping by the house whenever he feels like it, greeted with a smile by whoever is around. It has reached the point where even if Tony and Pepper are both gone, he can sit with Clint and play video games or have utterly harmless arguments about sports or do nothing at all, the pair of them lounging on the couch like cats. Sometimes Nick is napping in the recliner, or baking, or reading. To himself, or aloud when Clint asks, and Bruce feels like he's making some kind of psychological progress by having so many pleasant interactions with such an imposing man. He doesn't see much of Natasha, and he's not sure if she's just that busy, or simply aware of how nervous she makes him.

It's his own fucking hubris that does it. The idea that he can go to Natasha's after a bad day, that being on someone else's turf will contain him. It's one of those days where everything adds up. Tripping over the curb on his way to work had probably been enough to put today's goodwill toward men into the red, and all the deep breathing and calming scripts in the world haven't been enough to keep Bruce from vivid, Technicolor fantasies of killing people with his bare hands. Everyone from his smirking weasel of a boss to a man in the street dragging his blubbering kid along by the arm, vicious, hissing voice going on and on. 

His chest hurts with all the screaming he has kept back all day, and his nails have cut into his palms from how tightly his fists have been clenched. He keeps telling himself that everything will be fine, that he'll just sit down somewhere and take deep breaths until he's fit to be around, but Natasha answers the door and she makes him nervous, and then he's irritated with her for existing and with himself for being such an asshole. Nick is apparently napping somewhere in the back of the house, and Clint is day drunk on the couch. Utterly harmless, loose and goofy with it instead of aggressive, but he smells like booze and Bruce can't deal with that and it's Natasha all over again. Bruce is the most irrational prick in the world and he shouldn't be inflicting himself on these people. 

The basement seems like a safe place to be, so he goes there, and just sits on the floor in the dark. He wants to call Pepper, but she's still at work and he shouldn't bother her. He should fucking sit here and get a grip on himself and ignore the mental replay of the sound of Father's skull cracking and Jesus Tony and Pepper don't even know that he's a killer, that he's not just fucked up but actually dangerous and what is he doing here this is beyond stupid and into obscene and-- he takes a deep breath, and holds it. Lets it out slowly, and tries to remember any of his calming scripts. Fuck them anyway, a mantra doesn't change anything, it doesn't change what Bruce is or how fucked up he is or his terrible fucking choices that have led him to this moment.

Meditation is not going to work, so he stands up and goes to the bookshelf and later it's hard to say how it all goes wrong. A hardback volume falls onto his foot and trying to put it back makes the whole fucking thing wobble and then crash and every single fucking thing in life is too hard and Bruce can't take it anymore. So there he is, in someone else's house, hurling a bookshelf across the room and himself after it. The stupid rage is practically its own high, because then what a piece of shit he's being really sinks in and it all turns inward. 

He isn't sure, later, if he bashes his head on the floor or just tries to before Natasha stops him. Either way, she yanks him back by the hair and somehow manhandles him against the wall. There are metal rings embedded there, and she slips heavy-duty cuffs onto him before he even knows it, chaining him to the wall. These are not conventional bondage cuffs, these are serious business, and even when Bruce struggles for real, with all his enraged strength, they don't give.

"This isn't kink," Natasha says when he pauses for breath, "I just don't want you to hurt yourself." She tucks a body pillow behind his head before he can slam it back, so that his back keeps it against the wall when she takes her hands away. And then she just sits there and lets him fight the cuffs until his wrists are sore and his throat is too, from growling and screaming.

"Jesus fuck," Tony calls from the stairs, "do you have this under control, mistress?"

"For a given value," she calls back, and Bruce wants to die. He starts struggling again, but now he's trying to cover his face as he bursts into tears. He aches all over and he hates himself and he doesn't want Tony to see him like this and hates Tony for being someone whose opinion he even cares about.


	15. Chapter 15

Pepper is just collecting her things when Tony calls her. She answers, expecting to be asked to pick up something that was forgotten on the last grocery run. "Yes?" she says, slipping her feet back into her shoes and looking around for her keys.

"Hey, Pepper." He sounds more than a little frazzled, and she hopes nothing too major has gone wrong. "So Bruce is here and he's kind of freaking out but mostly okay now. Just wanted to warn you that shit is seriously emotional in the basement. We're probably gonna order pizza from that place with the good salads, did you want your usual?"

"...Sure, Tony. Freaking out about what?"

"Uh, life, I think? And apparently he has some kind of terrible confession to make, but I don't want to make him make it twice, so..."

"Right. I'll be home soon," she says, and then, "I love you," before she hangs up.

She spends the entire drive home with her stomach in knots. If it's something really terrible, she doesn't know what she'll do. Her mind spins out all kinds of awful possibilities, and she's on the verge of tears by the time she gets home. She stops upstairs to take several deep breaths and to make sure that she still has her emergency Xanax in the pillbox in her purse. That done, she heads down to the basement. At least no one is yelling. All she can hear is soft music, and a low murmur of voices.

The lights are very dim in the basement, but the big screen TV is showing a visualizer program that's creating restful waves of color in time to the music. She gasps to see Bruce cuffed to the wall, weeping softly. Tony is kneeling beside him and petting his hair, talking softly to him about photons and black holes, while Natasha carefully picks up scattered books and straightens their bent pages and Nick knocks their cheap Ikea shelf back into shape. Pepper takes this all in in a second, and then darts over to Bruce, dropping to her knees beside him and hugging him tightly, which makes him cry harder.

"I'm so fucking sorry," he whispers, his voice cracked and rough like he was screaming before. It sounds like he wants to say more, but he's crying too hard, wracked with silent sobs.

"Baby," Pepper murmurs, and kisses his salty cheek, "baby, it's okay."

"Not okay," he whimpers, and his sobs get a little louder, shaking him. 

Pepper looks across him to Tony. "How long has he been like this?"

"What is it, five-thirty? Yeah, it's been about two straight hours of this, maybe two and a half." He's holding himself together, but she can see that he has been scared of and for Bruce, and is exhausted by it.

There's a box of tissues and a large, half-full bottle of water by Tony's knees, and Pepper takes a couple of sheets, putting them to Bruce's nose. "Blow," she says, and he does. One of the little bathroom trashcans is also down here, nearly full of crumpled tissues. Pepper tosses this new one in beside the others, and strokes Bruce's hair, looking into his eyes. His glasses are spattered with tears, and she takes them off, passing them to Tony, who exhales a fog of moisture onto both sides of each lens, carefully wiping the salt away with another tissue.

"Bruce, darling?" she asks.

"Y-yes?" he manages to squeak, red-eyed and profoundly miserable. He looks hungover on shame and crying and self-hatred, and Pepper kisses his forehead, which just makes him close his eyes for a moment, new tears sliding between the lids.

"Have you ever taken a benzodiazepine, in the course of your medication?"

"Yeah," he husks. "They work, but I don't have a prescription."

"I do. Would a one milligram Xanax help you?"

"It might let me finally stop fucking crying," he croaks, and Pepper nods. 

She takes out her pill box and feeds the big blue pill to Bruce with a long gulp of the bottled water. He swallows hard and then just slumps into the restraints, waiting for the drug to kick in. Pepper can relate, and Bruce doesn't even twitch when Tony starts explaining that he has had a hard day and then exploded all over the book shelf. Bruce starts to sniffle and apologize again at that part, and Pepper strokes his hair and assures him that the books are mostly fine.

"Just a few bent pages," Natasha tells them, looking over again. "It's all right, Bruce."

"It's not all right for me to wreck other people's stuff, especially people I'm supposed to care about," Bruce says, and Pepper kisses him softly.

"It would be one thing if you didn't feel bad," she says, "but it's pretty clear that you didn't do this for fun." Bruce lets out a cracked laugh, and Tony gives Pepper one of his what-did-I-do-to-deserve-you looks. She leans across Bruce to kiss him, and then looks over at Natasha.

"Mistress, do you think we can unlock him?"

"I think so," Natasha says, and comes over to crouch in front of Bruce. "Not going to hurt yourself or any more furniture?"

"No, ma'am," Bruce says, cringing. He makes a noise of surprise that's almost a squeak when Natasha leans in and kisses his forehead. 

She pulls back just enough to look into his eyes and smiles softly at him. "Poor boy," she says, "I know you don't have a bad heart. 

This is enough to make Bruce sniffle again, but it's much quieter now, the pill starting to work. Natasha unlocks him and lets him blow his own nose like a grownup, the heavy cuffs still around his forearms. "We've ordered a mushroom and spinach pizza for you," she tells him. "I know you might not feel like it, but you probably need to eat something."

"Yes, ma'am," Bruce says, and bites his lip when Natasha goes to take the cuffs off. "I... I know you said this wasn't kink," he says, "but I think I'll feel safer if I keep them on."

"And we want you to feel safe, Bruce," she says, and strokes his hair. He whimpers quietly, but manages not to cry, leaning into her touch.

"I'm really sorry about the shelf and the books," he whispers, and Natasha sighs.

"I know you are, and I'm not angry with you. You startled me a lot, only frightened me a little, and didn't even damage the books that badly. A little clear packing tape and they'll be fine."

Bruce whines softly, but seems calm enough when Natasha unchains him. Tony hugs him tightly, his whole body tense with nervousness. "I'm sorry I scared you," Bruce adds, sounding close to tears again but not crossing that line for the moment.

"I know," Tony whispers, "I know."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real chapter sixteen! (Sorry if you said anything besides 'this is chapter fifteen again' on that first post, I hate to miss anyone's comments.)

Being rousted out of the lab by drunk Clint isn't Tony's favorite thing, but it's not the worst thing. Sometimes Clint just wants someone more sober with the proper safety equipment for setting things on fire, and sometimes he demands that Tony stay still and take his sloppy head like a man. If it's not one of those, it's just a reminder that dinner is nearly ready.

Tony doesn't even have to turn off his work music to know that today is something different. Clint looks like something has thrust him back into sobriety, and that is a terrible sign. As soon as it's quiet, he confirms that.

"Bruce is freaking the fuck out in the basement," he says. "Natasha has it under control, but..."

Tony is already bringing everything that needs active supervision to a stop, and does his best not to actually run back to the house with Clint, since charging in all amped up isn't going to help anything. He wants a steadying cocktail of his own, but Clint is pretty sure that smelling like booze is part of the problem.

He can hear Bruce crying from the basement, and makes his way down there as quickly as he can without charging. Natasha has Bruce bound to the wall with the Serious Business cuffs, and it sucks that it's not actually hot, with Bruce this miserable. He tries to cover his face when Tony approaches, and then starts yanking at the cuffs again, newly infuriated. Tony takes a step back, because this is pretty much the exact opposite of how Bruce was the day they met. Then Tony hadn't been afraid to be lifted off his feet and held there, but now it actually seems like Bruce would hurt him if he got loose. Bruce must see it in his face, because he screams in frustrated self-hatred, slamming his head back against the pillow, hands clawing at the air.

"Holy shit, Bruce," Tony murmurs, and Natasha just sighs and adjusts the pillow a little, easily dodging Bruce's bound hands.

"Bring us some water and tissues," she says, not even looking around.

Tony just nods and bolts back up the stairs, where he nearly runs into Nick, who looks like so much like the grumpy old man that he is that Tony has to stop just long enough to kiss him. "The fuck is going on in the basement?" Nick grumbles into Tony's mouth, holding him close in that automatically protective way that Tony loves so much. He will probably never admit to it out loud, but he clings for a moment now, wishing he could stay longer.

"Now we know why Bruce thinks he's a monster," Tony mumbles. "Poor guy's freaking out and I'm supposed to be getting him water."

Nick kisses the top of his head and lets him go. "Go on, then."

"Sure thing, Papa Bear," Tony says, and grabs a few bottles from the fridge while Nick goes downstairs. There's a fresh box of tissues in the nearest of the bathroom cabinets, and it's really kind of upsetting to have all the things he was sent for on the kitchen counter and still be all shaky and weird. He takes a deep breath and reminds himself that even if Bruce wants to fucking kill him he can't get loose. He gathers everything into his arms and then flinches as a miserable keening comes up from the basement. In a second he has forgotten all about being afraid of Bruce in favor of being afraid for him.

Downstairs, Nick is switching on a few lights to take the place from dark and hopeless to cozy, and looking for soothing music. Natasha has her arms around Bruce's neck, petting him as he howls into her shoulder. She looks over at Tony, and he comes to kneel with them, opening a bottle of water and then the box of tissues, passing each to Natasha in turn. Bruce blubbers a wretched apology for everything, and then Natasha makes him shut up and drink some water and blow his nose. She dampens another wad of tissues and uses them to wipe some of the salt off of his face, which just makes him start to cry again.

Bad as this is, at least the rage seems mostly spent. Bruce has a few little paroxysms and does some more screaming, but after Nick finds a good playlist, brings down a trashcan for all the used tissues, and Bruce gets some more water and hugs, he starts to just ride sorrow like a drug. One of those psychedelics that comes in waves, almost sober one minute and then the walls are turning into lace.

During one of the quieter times, Bruce says, "There's something I have to tell you." He's dry-eyed and calm for now, but Tony can feel that it won't last any more than the other intermissions have. "You've been very kind, but you might not want me here when you know." He takes a slow, deep breath, but Tony can see the futile tension in his face, and isn't surprised when fresh tears run down his cheeks.

"Let's get Pepper home," Tony says, "and then you can tell us." 

Bruce just sniffles and nods, and it takes at least another hour until Tony feels like the situation is enough under control to call Pepper. After he gets off the phone with her, he collects the household's full order. Clint is lonely and a little guilty upstairs, but he still wants Buffalo wings. Tony cuddles with him on the couch as he calls it in. Clint does smell more than a little like a still, and he looks up at Tony with big, limpid-drunk eyes when he hangs up again.

"I can stay up here and wait for the stuff," he says.

"Okay," Tony tells him, "but don't get maudlin." He kisses Clint's boozy mouth and then gets up, returning the basement where Bruce has started to cry again.


	17. Chapter 17

Bruce is so glad to see Pepper and so miserably ashamed to see her at the same time that it's physically painful. On a less terrible day he would argue with her about taking her meds, even if it is just one dose, but today he just opens his mouth and lets her feed him the large, bitter pill. The most anyone will ever prescribe him is a few half-milligrams a month, always saved for the very worst times, since he needs two of them to make any difference. Now he just breathes, letting the drug slowly work on him.

After Natasha unlocks him from the wall, Tony wraps his arms around him and Bruce clings to him in return, trying not to cry again at the thought that he still hasn't told them. Calmer now, he knows they probably won't actually throw him out for what he has done, but the intention to not look at a person any differently in light of new information does not always become reality. If he's supposed to eat, he'd rather confess first. He flinches when Pepper puts her arms around him from behind, and then sobs quietly.

"You know I have something to tell you," he says, so quietly only they can hear him. He'll speak up when the time comes.

"Yeah," Tony says softly, "and the chance that we'll still like you is pretty fucking high. Somewhere in the mid-nineties, at least."

Bruce takes a deep breath and sits up straighter, gently disengaging from Tony and Pepper. Or at least far enough to just hold their hands while he looks at Nick and Natasha, who have the shelf entirely replaced now. They come closer, and sit on the floor. Clint is upstairs waiting to accept their delivery, and maybe that's just as well. An audience of four is about all he can take right now. Natasha still makes him nervous, but in a way that he has to confront. And there's something comforting about the heavy cuffs on his forearms. It's a weird combination of feelings, and he does his best with it.

"So the only time I've mentioned my family is to tell Tony not to make even the most innocent jokes about my mother. That's because my father killed her when she fought back after years of him beating us both." He's looking over Natasha's shoulder now, eyes on the wall as he recites his whole dismal history in as few words as possible. "He claimed self-defense, no one listened to me, and I ran away from home before my fifteenth birthday. When I was seventeen he found me. At home, I went to her grave and he came with me, to keep an eye on me. I don't actually remember the beginning of the argument, or the fight. I come back in when I'm breaking his skull on the stone. He never regained consciousness, and I was a dissociated juvenile. So I'm a killer, but not legally a murderer." He can't take his eyes off the wall. He doesn't want to see anyone's face, and he makes himself ease up on Tony and Pepper's hands.

No one says anything for so long that it's excruciating, but finally Tony says, "I'm trying not to say 'good work!' because you seem really upset about this."

That startles Bruce into a laugh, and he laughs until he cries again. He's just getting a grip on it as Tony and Pepper hug him, when Clint comes down the stairs, his arms full of boxes. "Everyone okay?" he asks, and he's still a bit drunk and how could he have ever reminded Bruce of Father?

"I think we're getting there," Natasha says, and sends Nick upstairs for plates, utensils, and the beverages, still on the kitchen table, while Clint sets out the various boxes and other containers and then cuddles in next to her, childlike and needy. She just smiles and kisses his forehead, softly telling him that he's a good boy. An inchoate combination of secondhand embarrassment and desire makes Bruce's skin want to crawl off of his body, and he turns his attention to the food. Tony has of course ordered Bruce an entire large pizza of his own.

"Leftovers!" he chirps, watching Bruce examine it, and Bruce chuckles against his will.

"Thanks, Tony," he says, cringing inwardly at how hoarse he is. He's very grateful for the large iced tea that Nick brings him, and sips it slowly as he works on one slice of pizza, waiting for his appetite to come roaring back the way it does after the energy expenditure of completely flipping out. Soon enough it does, and he puts away half of the pizza before taking a break. Clint smiles at him, his fingers orange with Buffalo sauce.

"Better?" he asks, and Bruce nods.

"Yeah," he says softly, because he is feeling better, even if he's still full of guilty knowledge.

"Sorry for bein' a lush," Clint says, and Bruce's sudden urge to hold him is painful in its intensity.

"It's okay," he says softly. "It's just that my father used to get drunk and beat me up, and I was already having a shit day."

"Omigod, twinsies!" Clint squeals, and Bruce has to laugh.

"Do you wanna make your tragic confession again," Tony asks, "or should one of us tell him?"

"Go ahead," Bruce mutters, stomach knotting up. He sets down his half-finished slice and goes back to his tea as Tony speaks, his fingers laced with Bruce's.

"Part of the problem was that he was afraid we'd judge him," Tony says. "His dad was one of those upright American family men who beat their wives and children, and then kill the wife for fighting back and get away with it. After running away and being dragged home, Bruce busted the guy's head on her gravestone."

"...You're my hero now," Clint says, and sounds like he's about twenty-five percent joking, if that.

"Clint!" Pepper chides, looking at Bruce with concern. He's not even sure how he feels, but he ends up laughing again.


	18. Chapter 18

Pepper may not be very angry, but she knows what it is for one's own emotions to completely warp reality and cause regrettable behavior. These days she's mostly past it, well-medicated at last, but she remembers. She stays close to Bruce as she eats her salad and he demolishes most of his pizza, and every time he risks a shy little glance at her, she does her best to radiate not being afraid of him. Because she isn't. Pepper has dealt with men who are actually part of the problem, and Bruce doesn't bear much resemblance to them. He looks at her like a dog that expects to be kicked, and finally, when he's between slices and she's about done with her salad, she leans in and kisses him softly. He makes a tiny noise of surprise and then just lets her, his hands poised in midair. She takes one and puts it on her hip, and the other comes to cup her face, the rings on the manacles jingling gently.

"There," Pepper murmurs into Bruce's mouth, "it's okay."

"Okay," he whispers back, and his eyes are full of tears when she pulls away. At first kissing them away makes him cry harder, but he calms down as Pepper keeps at it, and shivers, more tension going out of his frame as Tony cuddles him from behind.

"It's all right, big guy," he says, rubbing a slow circle over Bruce's heart.

"God, I-- what time is it?" Bruce asks, and Pepper can tell that he's just trying to center himself back onto his immediate reality instead of the fucked up freakshow in his head.

"It's a quarter past eight," she tells him, and he sighs.

"I have work at six am, I should probably go." He doesn't move a muscle toward this objective, and Pepper doesn't really want him to. 

He shouldn't be alone right now and before she can even tell him so, Tony says, "Spend the night."

Bruce tenses all over again. "Tony, I'm really not--"

"For cuddles, get your mind out of the gutter," Tony says, and Bruce snorts and then leans on Pepper, making small noises of helpless amusement that aren't quite laughter. "You know I'm right," Tony adds, hugging him again.

"He's actually right a lot," Pepper says, "the ego has some basis."

"Maybe so," Bruce murmurs. It's not actual assent, but he's still making no move to leave. He leans into Pepper a little more, and then blushes when the manacles jingle again. "Guess I should give these back if I'm going home," he says, not moving.

"Come on," Tony coaxes, "you can even have your own bed if you want."

"Why the hell would I want that?" Bruce mutters, and Pepper laughs, kissing his cheek.

"Just lie down with us for a while," she says softly, and Bruce blushes a little and then nods. 

He risks a glance at Natasha who just says, "You can keep those on as long as you want."

"...Thank you, ma'am," he mutters, and flushes again, hiding his face in Pepper's shoulder.

"Come on, sweetheart," Tony murmurs, and takes Bruce's hand. Bruce laces their fingers together and then lets Tony help him up. Pepper stands with them and Clint grumbles about it being Tony's turn to clear up even as he gathers the dishes and containers. Bruce glances at his own pizza box, and Clint smiles.

"I'll stash that in the fridge for you," he says, and Bruce just nods, letting them lead him away. They guide him up the stairs and then to the next flight, pressed close to him like friendly dogs.

"I should've thanked Clint," Bruce says more to himself than anyone else, halfway to the second floor.

"He knows, baby," Tony says, "but you can tell him later."

Pepper and Tony have of course wound up with a room of their own. These things just happen here, and Pepper is very glad that they have somewhere private and sort of soothing to bring Bruce, complete with huge bed and clean sheets. There are mechanical diagrams all over the walls and various SHIELD sex cushions which thankfully aren't too obvious. Tony flops onto the bed and Bruce shuffles his way over to join him, carefully lowering himself onto the mattress. Tony wraps around him from behind and he closes his eyes and sighs, trembling slightly. Pepper takes this moment to finally get out of her work clothes, and she can feel Bruce's shy gaze on her. Down to her panties, she goes to join them, cuddling in against Bruce's chest. He lets out a grateful little sigh and wraps an arm around her. His heartbeat starts to slow against her, and she nuzzles into his shirt, breathing in the scent of him as they just lie there in the cool, quiet dark.

"Thank you," Bruce says softly, when at least twenty minutes of being together have gone by. Pepper feels sleepy with it, and just kisses the hollow of his throat, making him shiver again.

"You're welcome," Tony says, a little muffled in Bruce's hair. "Any time."

"I should probably take these off," Bruce says after a minute or two, the manacles jingling as he shifts his hands to look at them.

"They're a little heavy for the office," Pepper murmurs, and Bruce snorts in amusement, then tips her chin up to kiss her, gentle and slow but a little less shy, a little less afraid she's made of glass. She sighs into it and then sits up with him, Tony unbuckling the left cuff while she takes the right. The buckles are a little stiff, these cuffs don't see much use, but she gets it loose at last, looking up at him with an apologetic little smile on her lips. The look Bruce gives her makes her think of a dog again, but one that's starting to realize that it won't get the kick it was expecting.


	19. Chapter 19

Tony can tell that removing the manacles is a bit of a wrench, and puts his hand around Bruce's naked wrist. Pepper does the same on the other side, the best her dainty fingers can, anyway.

"You have really pretty hands, Pepper," he says. "I say that a lot, but it's always true." She gives him that adorable shy look of hers across Bruce, and Tony can see the effect it has on him, too. 

He squirms a little, and then says, "I think you both need to let go. Sorry. Sorry, I just--"

"Is it kind of giving you a boner when you don't feel like having a boner?" Tony asks, releasing Bruce's wrist as Pepper does the same. "I usually just ride it on through, but Nick can _not_ fake it til he makes it with the 'being okay with screwing at a certain time' thing."

"Nice to have something in common," Bruce says softly, and then non-existent god damn everything, his eyes are welling up with tears again. Tony freezes, but Pepper hugs Bruce tightly.

"Shh," she says, "it's okay, baby. You had a bad day and we don't hold it against you." 

She keeps murmuring to him for a while, guiding his face into the crook of her shoulder. He hides there and sort of slumps into her arms. It reminds Tony of when Clint is feeling very little and very needy. Natasha always gathers him close in the same way, and Pepper's tone is a lot like Natasha's when she tells any of her littles that Mama loves them and won't let anything hurt them. It's enough to make Tony start to slide into that headspace a bit, and even though it's really embarrassing in front of anyone who doesn't already know, he goes and gets his stuffed robot out of the closet. It's boxy and silvery, but none of the corners are hard, and it's very good to cuddle. He holds it while he just leans on Bruce to give him more warmth and contact without overwhelming him.

"...Is that a plush robot?" Bruce asks after a long silence, and Tony chuckles.

"Yeah," he says, "it is. Wanna hold him?"

"...Maybe a little bit," Bruce mutters, almost too quiet to hear. Tony pushes it into his arms, and after a second Bruce is hugging it tightly, squishing the soft silver boxes of its body against his own. "There you go," Tony says. "You can hang onto him as long as you want."

"Thank you," Bruce mumbles, and lies down again, the robot clutched to his chest. 

Pepper finds some work stuff on her tablet, and Tony pulls Bruce's glasses off and puts them on the nightstand, and then lies there playing with Bruce's hair, something he doesn't object to in the slightest. After a while Tony puts that arm around him, and Bruce sighs, leaning into him. Bruce's breathing is getting slower and slower, and Tony isn't surprised when he falls asleep right where he is. Flipping out like that has to got to take it out of a guy. He presses a kiss to Bruce's forehead and sighs, just holding him for a while until he's sure that Bruce is well and truly asleep. Then he sits up and looks across at Pepper. 

"I can still keep my puppy even though he chewed your shoes, right, boss?"

"More like chewed Natasha's, poor thing." She looks down at Bruce with a soft, sad smile. "He is kind of like a puppy, isn't he?"

"A really huge one that some shithead put through a fighting ring," Tony agrees, and leans down to kiss Bruce again. 

Tenderness is not a feeling that Tony deals with well. Okay, there aren't any feelings he's good at, but tenderness is the worst. It's not even protective rage, something he's way better at. After all, it's intimately related to how much he hates people fucking with his stuff. Shit, he's already getting possessive, Bruce _better_ not nobly tear himself away for the good of collective.

"If he's not still here in the morning, is it fucked up to show up at his house?"

"Call first," Pepper says, not looking up.

"Yeah, you're right."

Tony has some things to finish in the lab, but he tells Pepper to text him if Bruce wakes up. He cuts it short even without a text, since cuddling Bruce while he sleeps is almost as good as science. Snuggled up between them, all of Bruce's various lines relax, and he looks like a little kid with the robot plush tucked under his chin. Pepper's slender arm is wrapped around his waist like a rope of pearls around a tiger's neck and he is never going to say that out loud, yikes. It's true, though, and he loves them both so much he can hardly stand it.

Naturally, Tony wakes up alone. He had a feeling this would happen, but it's still one of his least favorite things. He grabs his phone to see if Pepper at least has the decency to leave him a message if she has to abandon him for the office. She does, and Tony feels that tiny bit less disgruntled.

 _your adorable sleepface made it very hard for bruce to leave_ it says, and Tony smiles.

Natasha and Nick are both up and adulting, but one of the many benefits of joining up with Natasha's household is Clint, who understands that mornings are not for living and also hates to wake up alone. He's just waking up when Tony finds him in Natasha's huge bed and climbs in beside him. Clint battens onto him like a limpet and mumbles happily as Tony pets him. Tony slowly drifts off again, pondering Bruce, boundaries, and what to do with this deep-seated urge to bring him a present.


	20. Chapter 20

Bruce has had a lot of nightmares in his life, but tends to sleep soundly after an outburst. This time he barely wakes up in time to leave. He extricates himself from Tony's arms, pushing the robot plush into his grip when he mumbles and reaches for Bruce. Pepper smiles, lying awake beside Tony.

"It took me much longer to learn to do that," she murmurs, as Tony hugs the plush and subsides again. Bruce smiles at her and tiptoes around the bed to kiss her cheek in farewell. 

It's still not even a quarter past five, he could easily make it in to work, but he's not sure if he should, after yesterday. His employers will not be as understanding as Natasha's household. Like his thoughts have summoned her, he finds her standing at the foot of the stairs. In fuzzy slippers, smiley face boxers, and what is probably one of Nick's sweaters, she's a little less imposing than usual, but only a little. She looks up at him for a long moment, her gaze piercing but not unkind. 

"Solid?" she asks at last, and Bruce smiles slightly.

"More like a colloidal suspension, but I'll be all right."

"You're not mine," she says, blowing on her coffee, "but as your attorney I would advise you to call in today."

Bruce just nods, glancing away. He can still feel Natasha's eyes on him, and is surprised at how not excruciating it is. He's definitely not comfortable, but this isn't all bad. "Maybe I will," he mutters.

"You want a ride home, or cab fare?"

The buses aren't running yet, or Bruce would insist on bus fare. As it is, he lets Natasha call him a cab, and accepts a cup of green tea. They sit together at the table in companionable silence, sipping their drinks.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Bruce says at last, and Natasha shakes her head.

"Don't be. It wasn't on purpose."

For some reason Bruce feels like he's going to cry, and has to stare down into his tea and take deep breaths for a while. "Thank you," is all he says at last, but it seems to be enough. Another minute of silence and the cab pulls up to the curb. Natasha stands when he does, and offers him her hand. He takes it, tries to thank her again but can't talk, and gets out the door as fast as he can without running.

At home, he tries to get himself into something like the right frame of mind to go to work and fails so completely that he puts on his best sore throat voice and calls in sick. Natasha can be as encouraging as she likes, the guilt is still enough to choke him. He tries to calm himself but it's almost as useless as it was yesterday. Another Xanax would go down pretty smooth right now, but all he has are some off-label antihistamines that make him stupid and sleepy. Better that than to have two episodes in a row, so he takes the hateful little capsules and lies down, not really asleep or awake, useless but mercifully anesthetized.

As the haze is clearing, some time in the afternoon, his phone rings. He paws it off the nightstand and blinks to see Tony's number and a text from Pepper. The absolute certainty that both of them are going to gently tell Bruce that this whole thing is a bad idea washes over him in a nauseous wave, but he answers.

"Hello?" He sounds more normal to his own ears than he would have expected.

"Hey! Did you call in?" Tony sounds just like he always has, and Bruce relaxes just a little.

"Yeah, I did."

"Sweet! Can I come over?"

Bruce chuckles. "Sure, Tony. I'm coming out of an antihistamine stupor, I might be a little boring."

"I'm good at finding stuff to do on rainy days," Tony says, and Bruce laughs out loud.

"I'll bet you are!"

After Tony hangs up, Bruce checks the text from Pepper:

_i hope you're feeling better today, sweetheart. text to let me know i'm in a lot of meetings today._

By the time Tony shows up, Bruce has messaged Pepper, levered himself out of bed and made some tea. It actually is just becoming a rainy day, and there are a few spots on Tony's shirt and some droplets in his hair when he comes in, plowing through the doorway and into Bruce's arms. Tony hugs him tightly, a small shopping bag hanging off of one wrist.

"I brought you a thing," he mumbles into Bruce's shoulder.

"That was nice of you," Bruce says, and then keeps holding him, only letting go when he starts to squirm free, eager to show Bruce his gift. 

Bruce can't help but feel weird whenever anyone gives him anything, since whenever his father pretended to apologize, there tended to be presents involved. It's part of why Bruce hasn't minded a lot of the little privations of being so broke, but the way Tony watches him makes it a little better. Inside the bag, in a nest of tissue paper, is a bright green stuffed monster of some kind. Its exaggerated face has an underbite and huge pointed teeth, the whole thing so ugly that it's cute. Looking down into its mismatched eyes, Bruce can't help but smile.

"You've called yourself a monster," Tony says. "If so, you're that kind, okay?"

"Okay," Bruce says, his throat a little tight. "I'm going to go put him on my bed. Do you want some tea?"

"I never want tea, but I'll have some to keep you company," Tony says, and Bruce chuckles, kissing him softly and pouring him a cup.


	21. Chapter 21

Pepper tries not to check her phone compulsively. It's rude and counterproductive, but she can't help checking at least twice as often as usual, today. Bruce doesn't actually send her any kind of message until two in the afternoon, and she can't actually look at it until half-past three.

_im feeling a little better and tony is coming over. take care of yourself. <3_

Right at the end of a long but productive day, Tony calls, and for a terrible moment Pepper's stomach drops because it's the same time he called her yesterday, and she's wondering if Bruce is having a relapse. "Tony?" she asks, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.

"Hey, kitten!" He tends to call her that when he's drunk, but he doesn't sound drunk, exactly. "If you're not too tired you should come by Bruce's place. We're stoned and making Swiss-style muesli. Did you know it has apples in it?"

Pepper laughs, slipping her feet out of her shoes and makes one slow spin in her chair. "I did not know that," she says, still smiling.

"It's weird! You let it sit overnight and it's actually really good," he chirps, and Pepper lets him ramble for a bit as she collects her bag, her jacket, and her shoes. She bids Tony a fond farewell on her way into the parking garage, which has terrible reception anyway. She makes one wrong turn on the way to Bruce's apartment complex, but it's a minor one, and when she has to knock on the door she realizes that this already seems like a place she should have a key to.

It takes an irritatingly long time for Tony to finally open the door, but he's shirtless and flushed enough for Pepper to forgive him. "Sorry," he says, pulling her into the apartment and into his arms, the door shutting behind her. "It makes Bruce nervous to leave it unlocked when anything even vaguely sexual is going on, so..."

"Only vaguely?" The place smells faintly but definitely of extremely high-quality marijuana, and as always it makes Pepper a bit nostalgic for college.

"Well, totally more than vaguely, he's willing and I'm involved, but there's still plenty of time for you to join in."

Pepper laughs and sets her bag down, slipping out of her shoes and then her jacket. Tony helps her figure out where to put these things, and then leaves her to freshen up in the bathroom without having to be told. She's proud of his progress, and once her hair is down and she's reasonably sure that her makeup won't come off all over everyone, she takes her bra and stockings off and makes her way to Bruce's bedroom. The college nostalgia hits again when she sees that the boys are engaged in an extremely gay back rub, the kind of thing experimental kids do to get their feet wet. Bruce is naked but Tony's pants are safely on as he grinds against Bruce's lower back in just the kind of way a college freshman could kid himself was unobtrusive. It's adorable.

Bruce is stretched out on his belly and moaning softly, doing some of grinding of his own against the mattress as Tony kneads his shoulders and the back of his neck. He works on Bruce's scalp a little, too, and tugs gently at his hair. Bruce sighs and melts into the sheets, turning his head to look at Pepper with that diffuse, near-sighted gaze, his glasses on the nightstand next to a small glass pipe and what must be the stash container, a prescription vial with the label peeled off. Pepper smiles at him and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoning her blouse as she watches them.

"Feeling a little more relaxed?" she murmurs, and Bruce blushes, nodding as best he can against the pillow.

"Good," Pepper says, and wriggles out of her skirt, draping it neatly over the room's one chair. Tony slows down a little to watch her, and she does her best not to laugh as she shrugs out of her shirt. "You two are reminding me of college so much right now," she tells them, and Tony laughs, leaning down to kiss the back of Bruce's neck.

"Here's hoping it's only the good parts and I can take off my fucking pants."

"I do like to watch you suffer," Pepper says, "but go ahead."

Tony rolls off of Bruce and onto his back beside him, actually groaning in relief as he finally escapes his pants, kicking them halfway across the room and making Bruce snicker. "You, sir, are a cold-hearted temptress," he says.

"Would a blow job help?" Bruce coos, and Tony snorts.

"You know it would. You want to turn this into a daisy chain, Pepper?"

Pepper is delighted to turn this into a daisy chain. It's nice to actually get a show while getting head, and Bruce's performance is well worth watching. He sucks cock like he needs it in his mouth to live, and Tony whimpers and moans against her, his legs wrapped around Bruce, heels digging into his back. Tony can't last long under this treatment, and the way he howls is just bonus vibration at this point. It isn't quite enough to push Pepper over the edge, but it's close. It's only polite to let Tony get his breath, however little inclined she may be to let up. She rises onto her knees and Tony slides out from under her as Bruce pulls the condom off and knots it up, tossing it into the trash. The look he gives Pepper is so shy and sweet that it makes everything absolutely filthy.

"Yes, you can help," she says sweetly, and he scrambles for a dental dam because ever since the first time he has been endearingly well-prepared. She lounges back this time, and Bruce settles between her thighs, still hard but apparently in no hurry. He starts slow, but has learned well from Tony and knows exactly what to do. Sometime before Pepper comes, Tony guides Bruce to raise his hips just enough for Tony to actively jerk him off instead of just letting him hump the mattress. Pepper approves this course of action, but can't really say anything about it, too busy trying to keep quiet as she comes all over Bruce's face. Bruce follows a moment later, and after shaking and panting to a stop, he rests his head on her thigh.

It's only after everyone has cleaned up and snuggled down into Bruce's bed again that he brings up Natasha. Lying there between them and hugging his monster plush, he admits that the way she took control of him made him feel safe. Tony kisses the light bruising on his wrists, and asks if they should build a cage for their adorable lovemonster.

"Maybe so," Bruce murmurs, and then hides his face in green velour while they hug him from both sides.


End file.
